1878 CONSTRUCTION LTD

💤Zombieactive
14367328 · ltd · incorporated 2022-09-21
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Development of building projects
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
10 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 2 gazette
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (9 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-10
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  2. 2025-12-09
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  3. 2025-05-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-12-18
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2024-12-17
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  6. 2024-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1878 CONSTRUCTION LTD
  8. 2022-09-21
    POLHILL, Paul appointed
    director
  9. 2022-09-21
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

83/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Paul Polhill
Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control21/09/2022

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2022-09-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects

Registered office

Landmark House
43-45, Merton Road
Merseyside, Liverpool
L20 7AP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-04
Last: 2025-09-20

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

POLHILL, Paul
director · ~60y · appointed 2022-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (10 total)

gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-12-10
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-12-18
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-23
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2022-09-21